A Rehoboth man is working in Belgium coordinating air cargo shipments of food and water to offer aid to the victims of the famine epidemic in Somalia.

Jerry Hyatt is currently working as a commercial director for Meridian Airways, which is coordinating flights filled with food and relief supplies for the charity UNICEF along with a United Nations aid program and several nonprofits.

“I had been retired for several years, and was looking for something to do so, when my friend called,” said Hyatt, talking about a friend who operates Meridian Airways from Ghana. “He asked me to come to Belgium, where their European office is, and give him a hand with the commercial side of the airline.”

Hyatt explained that shortly after he arrived, he was contacted by another friend at Air Charter Service out of London, which was working as cargo charter brokers for non-governmental relief agencies.

“They were helping UNICEF move food and relief supplies from where they had been staged, in Nairobi, Kenya to Mogadishu, Somalia where there is such desperate need,” Hyatt said. “We are a small company, so we're unable to donate our services, but we keep the cost as low as we can.”

Hyatt said that the situation in Somalia is difficult, and sometimes the food is hijacked by warlords who sell it on the black market. He said Meridian Airways was using one plane in its work for UNICEF, but it wasn’t enough, so the airline chipped in with another aircraft.

“UNICEF is trying to distribute many tons of food to help stave off starvation, it was obvious that one airplane wasn't enough, so we flew another airplane to Nairobi from it's base in the United Arab Emirates,” Hyatt said. “We were able to donate that service, so more food could be moved. ... The bad guys try to hijack the supplies, take the food, then sell it to the people on the black market. But enough of it gets through to help many thousands of the refugees. The food is literally making it possible for people to survive.”

Hyatt first went to Belgium for the work during the summer. He expects to come home in early November in time for the holidays.

Nicole Maffeo Russo, Hyatt’s stepdaughter who lives in West Roxbury, said that she is proud of what he is doing. Russo said she has been sharing Hyatt’s stories with her two young girls, adding that it’s a way to teach the youngsters about the hunger crisis in Africa.

“I wasn’t really aware what was happening in Somalia until he went over there,” Russo said. “He has been emailing us the stories on this famine and starving children. I have two little girls and I’ve been telling them about it and what Grandpy’s doing. Every night we say prayers for Grandpy and the starving children.”

Page 2 of 2 - The United Nations declared this summer an estimated 3.7 million people in Somalia are facing starvation, which is half the population, and that infant deaths due to malnutrition are common in some areas.

Hyatt said he has been humbled by his experience.

“It's a very humbling experience,” Hyatt said. “We use modern technology — sophisticated aircraft, navigation systems, communications — to do the most basic thing: feed someone to keep them alive.”